The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Would the Packers move on from Rodgers?

Episode Date: January 6, 2023

Aaron Rodgers is once again talking about retirement Jim Harbaugh should stay at Michigan Zach Wilson is not a starting NFL QB   Guest: Dwight FreeneySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it is a Friday, a glorious Friday live. In Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, and however you may be listening or watching, we're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, my final regular season, Blazing 5. I'm 54.5% this year. I want to get to 55. It is a tough week. I love my picks.

Dogs are barking. J. Mack joins. That's one hour from now. J-Mack is joining me today. I've got a couple of theories I'm going to throw out there. You and I both love kind of the theory balloon. We float an idea. You were all over the Notre Dame,

just got a star quarterback in the transfer portal. You floated that two, three weeks ago. You were right on the money. You do a good job on that stuff. You know, I injured myself yesterday, patting myself on the back for hitting that. Tom Brady and Vegas seems like a lock at this point. You know, listen, if you hit Aaron Rogers and the Tennessee Titans,

just give me a powerball numbers, okay? later this spring. So I want to start with this. So Aaron Rogers talked retirement again yesterday. He said, I don't know if I'm going to play. My future's uncertain. So he told the Wisconsin State Journal that. Aaron Roger says, my future's uncertain.

So Aaron's always been one of the headier quarterbacks. He's playing chess, not checkers here, right? He's pretty smart guy. You don't have to agree with his vaccine stance or what he says to, you know, Joe Rogan or whatever, but he's a thinking man, okay? So I just want you to think about that as I go into this. So Farv and Aaron Rogers are not the same person, but they're becoming the same Green Bay quarterback. You've seen those commercials, those progressive insurance commercials where, you know, you start becoming your parents. They're actually very, very funny. Aaron's becoming

far of whether he wants to be it or not. He's getting kind of rigid. He doesn't want to change certain things. Farve got very rigid. I don't want to learn a new offense. Aaron's like I want Randall Cobb and my 70-year-old quarterback coach. They're becoming the same guy. And I've always called this the Green Bay Packer quarterback syndrome. It's the only franchise with no owner. So there's nobody to rein you in. You are the most powerful person in the organization. No matter how big Troy Aikman was, Jerry Jones was bigger. No matter how big Jimmy Johnson was, Jerry Jones was bigger. No matter how big Belichick or Brady are, Robert Kraft's bigger. In Green Bay, A quarterback runs the franchise.

The second thing is, it's the smallest city in the country with a pro sports franchise. So you get kind of a fawning media. They're not going to ridicule you much. Everybody sees everybody at the grocery store. You could bump into Aaron. So you're not going to get that. It's a very unique. And the difference is, Farve at least had Aaron Rogers behind him pushing him.

Aaron's got Jordan Love, and we don't know if Jordan Love can play. My guest says today it can play. He can start. But nobody already knows. So it gives Aaron even more power. So I do believe this weekend that if Aaron and the Packers lost and don't make the playoffs, or they get in and then get eliminated quickly, I do believe they will strongly consider getting a first round pick or two for Aaron Rogers

and rolling the dice with Jordan Love. They moved up to get him. It looks like a total blown pick if you don't play him. And GMs like to play their picks, especially the first round picks they moved up. and it does look like Jordan Love has gotten significantly better in the last year. That's what people say. That's what the film says.

That's what we saw. So Aaron gets beat this weekend. You sit there and think, what's the point? We can do that with Jordan Love. We're still the best run organization in this division. What's the point? Now, some of you say, oh, dead cap hit. It doesn't matter for a couple years.

You would have a big dead cat hit. But you're not paying Jordan Love anything. And this is a very complete roster. They could probably use an edge rusher. one more receiver. They went heavy into the O line last year. This roster doesn't have a lot of needs. It really doesn't.

Maybe another edge rusher. Maybe another receiver. That's about it. It's a good roster. It's playing very well right now. I'll throw this at you. Aaron's smart. Aaron's calculated.

His whole vaccine thing. He's calculated. And ask yourself this. He's going to be 39 years old. And he's expensive. If Aaron keeps mentioning, I don't know if I'm going to play. Hmm. The team that gets him doesn't have to give up many picks.

What's Green Bay going to? Because Aaron's not going to go play for a crappy team. He'll just retire. Tennessee's the team I put out there. So Mike Vrable goes, hey, it gives Mike Vrable leverage. The guy talks retirement every 15 minutes. He's 39 years old. He's doing ayahuasca in the offseason.

I'm not giving you three first round picks. I'll give you a one and a two. I think, I think, especially off the Russell Wilson disaster deal, a first and a second, Aaron understands wherever he goes, he doesn't want to gut the team's draft capital. He wants to go to Tennessee. He wants them to have enough picks to get him another receiver. The Burke's kid, Tray Burks, they like a lot, but they need another receiver. You don't want to have to give up multiple.

couple of first, couple of second. That's what hurts Denver's job right now. Man, they got no picks next year. Is Aaron thinking, you know, I can talk privately with Mike Vrable? I'm not saying Aaron's done this, but it would be really, really shrewd. That you throw it out there, he's 39, he's super expensive, and he talks retirement. You're not going to have to give up nearly as much as you would if he was 36, say he's playing until he's 46 years old. If Aaron's three years younger and is like, I'm never retirement, I'm going to break Brady's record.

You're going to have to give up four first and two seconds and a third. Aaron this week talked once again about his future. Yeah, I mean, for sure. Just because you don't know what the future holds. But when I think about that, it's nothing but gratitude, not remorse or sadness, just gratitude for the time that I've been here, the amazing memories that I've had on this field. but a lot of great moments. But, you know, I'm still undecided.

We're all undecided about the future. We're just going to enjoy Sunday night and hopefully we have some more to play for. Very nebulous. Nobody knows what he's doing. Aaron's smart. Titans could give up less. You think Mike Vrable thinks today he's going to win the AFC? Burrow, Allen, Malmes, Herbert.

But Tanniel? Got to have a gunslinger. Got to have an all-timer. Aaron's going to be the one all-timer on the market, potentially. All right, let's shift gears to this. The toothless NCAA. Jim Harbaugh is under investigation. There was some recruiting thing during the COVID period.

Blah, blah, blah. NCA's bored. They'll make him sit out of practice. Who cares? Michigan's rolling. You know, it's interesting about the Harbaugh situation. or pro. So both professions, college football coaches and NFL coaches are having to deal with something that makes them uncomfortable. Let's start with college. Transfer portal. Players can leave almost at any

time once the season's over. You've got to pay them now if they're stars. There's bidding wars. A lot of guys don't like that. Should be noted, the reason Brian Kelly at LSU and Lincoln, Riley at USC can get to 10 and 11 wins respectively in one year, transfer portal. Go solve your weaknesses. So it's a good thing for the smart coaches who can recruit. It's a great thing for Brian Kelly. It's a great thing for Lincoln Riley. The old school whiners, get over yourself. You can get, it's like, you know, you get more recruits,

except guys are actually playing in college football, so you have fewer whiffs, fewer busts. So some coaches are uncomfortable with that. Maybe Harbae is, I doubt it. NFL coaches, because of the global wealth we have seen explode with tech over the last 10, 15 years, owners are now all billionaires, all rich, And they consider $40 million a rounding air. You got to win, you got to win fast. I saw a story yesterday, Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins coach could get fired.

Fired, I thought he was a success. It's insane. But billionaires are insane because they've never been richer. So I am rooting for Harbaugh to stay in college. Because I do believe, having grown up in Seattle or near Seattle, that northern programs, Oregon, Washington, Ohio, State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State need great coaches to compete for a national title or compete for a playoff. In the South, you could hire the wrong coach.

There are so many dynamic, robust high school football stars in programs. Ed Orgeron is considered a miss and he won a national title. You could never do that in a northern program. There's not as many kids up there. You're constantly convincing kids to come up north and plan lousy weather. So Harbaugh matters to Michigan. When he got there, Michael Jordan's brand basically signed Michigan football to a huge deal. Why?

Because he's Jim Harbaugh. He's great for Michigan. Michigan's great for Jim. The other thing is, and I believe this to be true, I think about stuff like this all the time. Stay in a job that allows you to be the best version of yourself. So you have to have some self-examination. What are your weaknesses as a human being?

You're driving around listening to me. What are you really good at and what are you not good at? if you make most of your life decisions, I live by this, I think about it all the time, doing things that are the best version of me, I have things I don't do well, things I do pretty well. I think Harbaugh is actually better for college. Why? Because he gets the Michigan brand. He can dominate the Big Ten mostly.

He can clearly recruit. He gets to control the personnel. He doesn't have a power-hungry general manager or a petulant quarterback making 50 million a year. He didn't have a salary cap to deal with or a zany billionaire owner who gets in a bad mood because one of his companies goes belly up and now he wants to tell Harbaugh how to run his team. Stay in jobs, seek jobs, maintain jobs that are the best version of you. And I think Harbaugh, no crazy billionaire owner, no power hungry GM, he can control virtually every part of the program. And he's a smart guy that makes lots of good decisions.

He can change in a dime coordinators. He can change in a dime philosophy. He doesn't have to get it okay with a GM. He doesn't have to get it okayed with the owner. He doesn't have to talk to the business ops guy. I want to change my coordinator. I want to change how we play. He can do it at the college level.

I hope he stays. The NCAA thing doesn't mean squat. We'll keep you posted. All right. Blazing 5. Final Blazing 5 regular season. Well, we'll see if we do it in the playoffs. I don't know. 54% I feel pretty good.

Feel pretty good. Let's do it in the playoffs. You can add some prop bets, first halves, totals. Come on, dig into the gambling. The audience loves it. You know that. I know. People like, well, they like to do that.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations,

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double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, it is great to be here today. It is a Friday. Blazing Five, our last one, potentially. If I have a good week, maybe I'll keep going. Dwight Freeney, seven-time Pro Bowler is going to be joining this hour.

So, Zach Wilson, Jets, Jets, Dolphins are playing second and third string quarterbacks. No entry. It had, it really, if Zach Wilson would have worked out and Tua was healthy, it would be a great last game. It's going to be a dud. Stay away. Don't bet it. It's a total dud. It's going to be Joe Flacco against Skyler Thompson, I think, the third string quarterback.

Yeah, I'm not. That's not. That's not even a corner television game, as my friend Chad Millman says. That is the next room game. That's not even going to listen to the. the audio of that game. But the Jets were talking about Zach Wilson, the quarterback at a BYU, number two picked. I didn't like it. Nothing against the kid. I thought it was going to be a major whiff. It has been. Now they're saying, you know, we should have brought him in and let him

sit for a while. In hindsight, it probably would have benefited, you know, just to sit back and learn a little bit and watch a veteran and do it and just kind of grow, you know, in this league, kind of in the back seat watching and getting better in practice and getting better through scout team and all that. But again, that wasn't the course that we went. I think he could sit for six years. He's not a starting quarterback in the NFL. You could see it very early. Herbert Burrow were forced into activity with bad offensive lines. You knew immediately. Kyler Murray forced into activity. Rookie head coach who just got fired in college, bad offensive line. You got it. You got it. He doesn't. I don't mean to make it personal.

But if it was about sitting, why didn't he get better year one to year two? He's small. He's undisciplined. He plays hero ball. He's got bad mechanics. He's not great at the podium. Maybe the nicest guy in the world. But Mahalms, Aaron Rogers, and Lamar Jackson sat.

But they sat with like John Harbonne, Andy Reed, and a veteran coach, and a stable organization and good ownership. The jets are the jets. They don't make anything easy. And I think there's a lesson to be learned with Zach Wilson. And I know that people in the NFL watch because they get text all the time, even on my birthday. Here's the lesson to be learned. I get all the time, people will send me stuff fans.

And I'm like, ooh, that's, I never picked up on that. You can learn a lesson from anybody. Even me. Be careful how much you ask of a young quarterback. He had to go from conservative Provo to New York City. the biggest loudest media in America? He had to go from BYU schedule to Belichick twice a year and Sean McDermott. Rookie head coach.

Play caller with not a ton of experience. A shaky offensive line. You were asking this kid, it was like the hurdles, one after another, after another, after another. Even if he was Mahomes, this could be choppy and turbulent. I mean, at least when Justin Herbert got to the Chargers, he didn't have the right coach and the O-line was bad, but he had like Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, and he had, you know, some playmakers on defense.

I mean, you know, it was choppy, but there were things. He went to a big program. He went to a sleepy NFL team, the Chargers. That wasn't that big of an ask. He had a lot of years starting. He was a big, strong kid. The O-line was choppy. And the coach wasn't ideal.

Joe Burrell, the offensive line was bad, but he had a couple of nice receivers. He had an offensive coach. They spent a lot of money on free agency. He didn't have to win by shootout. But, I mean, Zach Wilson, they just kept asking things. Provo to New York City. BYU's schedule to Belichick and Sean McDermott. And at the time, Brian Flores, I think.

It was like three defensive coordinators, three of the best. like three great defensive minds, pass rushes. And then it's, you know, a rookie head coach. I think Robert Saul is probably going to make it, but you don't know. A defensive coach in New York, a play caller without a ton of play calling experience, bad old line, and let's be honest about it. It's the Jets. I think this marks the 12 straight year.

They haven't made the playoffs. So people fell in love with this pro day. There's something else we can learn. I went back and looked. I remember when I heard about Zos, Zach Wilson. I watched him play Washington years ago, and he had a couple of decent throws. Talented, you know, there's some arm talent, obviously. But when you watch a guy in college, there's got to be some, whoa, C.J. Stroud against Georgia.

Whoa. He can run and throw? Bryce Young. Whoa. That gets rid of that puppy fast. Will Levis, arm strength, size. Whoa. Herbert. There's got to be Josh Allen was wild and crazy. 6-6-2-50 jumping over people, arm strain. The wow for Zach Wilson wasn't on YouTube. It was at his Pro Day in shorts. Can we scale back on the importance of Pro Day? It's the opposite of real football. There's no real thinking.

You don't wear pads. There's no pass rush. So if you're a small guy, you don't really know what it's like looking over 6, 7 left tackles and right tackles. But I think the big learning experience here is when you draft a college quarterback and you're asking him to overcome five or six things, Big Ben played at Miami of Ohio, but he got a great defense. He got a great ownership. He got a great coach. He got good run support. He had a veteran receiving corps. You weren't

asking Big Ben anything other than come in here. Don't crash the Mercedes. It's a really good car. We need you to make about four or five big throws a game. If you look at Mahomes, he sat for a while, he had a receiver. He had Andy Reed. He had stability. They had to rebuild that defense, but it was like O-Line was pretty good. The receiving corps. You can't ask these guys to do six and seven things out of college.

Now, occasionally you'll get a Trevor Lawrence, but even he struggled last year. They asked him to overcome too much. Now this year, they got him more help in free agency. They got him an NFL coach. Shocking. Right now, Justin Fields, I like him. You're asking him to overcome too much. Bears O'Line stinks.

receiving course stings. They could use another tight end. You know, defensive coach, new offensive coordinator. You're asking Justin Fields to overcome too many hurdles. That's the lesson here. I don't mind if a guy plays immediately or sits. But this BYU experiment, Provo experiment, that schedule experiment, rookie coach, Jets, shaky O line, bound to fail.

Jemak with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I wonder if I'm the only one who detects a lot of disdain when you say jets. You know, you say it in a manner that's so negative. But, hey, I get it. We stink.

Am I being negative? I'm sorry. But we got some good news right out of the gate here, Colin. DeMarne Hamlin's recovery. Amazing. Really. Amazing is the perfect word. The breathing tube has been removed.

The bill's announced. And Hamlin is speaking to his family members. and care team. He was also able to FaceTime his teammates and coaches and he told them, love you boys. This is just great news on a Friday. Outstanding. Think about how sad

the news was Monday night and how uplifting it is today. We talk about this all the time. One of the great virtues in this entire process has been his youth. These guys, these pro athletes are in such great shape. They recover if he is

25 years older, not shape and this kind of accident happens. But he's young. He's in great shape. You had immediate medical teams. You know, the NFL got criticized for not canceling fast enough, but the NFL saved his life, first responders on the scene in minutes. The Buffalo Bills team, Cincinnati, amazing support. So this is, you know, the NFL, it's easy to criticize, big and powerful, right? But in the end, their ability to immediately understand the urgency of the moment, get on the field. CPR is part of what saved his life.

And it now looks like he's turned, according to the stories this morning, he's turned a corner. It's awesome. Awesome news. Yeah. The bills are going to wear a number three patch on their jersey this weekend against the Patriots. Boy, that Bill's practice today is going to be an exciting one, huh? I'm coming out, coming off, FaceTiming Hamlin and getting excited. Hey, he's all, are guys okay?

I know. I actually thought that. I thought, is Buffalo going to play incredibly emotional, inspired football against New England? What's the scene at the stadium going to be? Oh, my love. Lord. It's going to be incredible. Exciting. All right. Next up, the Cowboys still have a chance to win

the NFC East and climb up to the top scene in the NFC. They'll need a little bit of help to get there. Obviously, they would need the Giants reserves to shock the Eagles. That ain't happening. That being said, Dak Prescott says he's only focusing on what he can control, which is winning against

Sam Howell in Washington on Sunday. We've got to win. The focus first and foremost is win, play well. Yes. and build momentum. And if we win the division title, that's not necessarily up to us at this point. We've just got to go in and take care of our business.

So a probability chart that said, the Dallas is 91% locked in to visit Tampa wildcard weekend. So would you rest starters? I think you want to keep the continuity going, probably a couple series, maybe a quarter. Yeah, that's how I feel you attack this weekend, is you go through everything that you would normal week, but I don't want Tony Pollard going into a playoff

game. So I'm going to play Tony. He sat last week, by the way, against the Titans. Yeah, I mean, but I want him in practice this week. I want him to have a couple of carries, but I'm not playing, I'm not giving him the ball 15 times. Offensive line has had some injuries. I would definitely bolster the backup so they're getting in there early. And Michael Parsons, nothing can happen to that guy. You need him at full strength next week. By the way, I'm just curious. Cowboys Tampa, you want to guess the line on that? What do you think it would be? In Tampa, by the way. Dallas favored by three. I think that's about right.

Is that it? I haven't seen one yet because it's not locked in, but that game is. That's going to be probably the – well, we'll see. Chargers have to play the Bengals. That might be the best wild card game. Chargers Bengals is fan. Aaron Rogers, Niners. Gosh, next weekend.

I can't wait. Yes, yes, yes. All right, final story. Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 15 finalists for the class of 2023, highlighted by three players with their first year of eligibility. Dwight Franey? He's a Hall of Famer. Yep.

Dorell Revis? He's a Hall of Famer. Okay. And Joe Thomas. Oh, he's absolutely. Two of the three have been on this show. Yeah, no, those are hollow. Let me look at the list right now.

I don't want to make any enemies. Frini is obviously. Thomas is obviously. Dorel Revis is obviously. Boy, Andre Johnson. Listen, Devin Hester has to get in. I mean, he's one of the, he has like a ton of return records. People were avoiding punting to him back in this part.

Zach Thomas feels like a Hall of Famer, but is he the former dolphin? Yeah, the Dolphins linebacker. He's a very good player. Andre Johnson. And his prime was excellent. I mean, all these guys obviously in the prime. Patrick Willis, though, how long did he play? Out of Ole Miss, number 11 pick, Niners.

Boy, he was a wrecked. Yeah, it was a wrecking ball. Darren Woodson, did he have a pick six back in the day? I mean, to me, the obvious ones, Joe Thomas, Revis Freeney are Hall of Famers. To me, that, I mean, Freeney was a top three pass rusher for 10 years. Yeah, a decade. I always felt like it's the 10-year rule. Like, I never understood.

And maybe revisionist history. Jim Rice, the baseball player. So when I was growing up, high school college, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice were the Red Sox. But Rice, to me, Reggie Jackson was the home run king and the American League on the left side, A's Yankees, Jim Rice on the right side. And apparently Jim Rice didn't get along with the media great.

And for years and years, like Jim Rice didn't get into the Hall of Fame. to me, if you are anything great for 10 years, a decade of good. Steve Garvey was the best fielding first baseman for a decade. He was a great clutch hitter. I think he got like playoff MVPs. Steve Garvey's not, and Jim Rice, there's this pushback. I'm like, Steve Garvey for 10 to 12 years was the best fielding and a power hitting first baseman corner infielder.

Jim Rice was a monster, not just because of Fenway. So Hall of Fames are weird to me. I always go, football, maybe it's an eight-year rule because of the violence, but in like 10 years of dominance at something, if you're top two or three in something, you feel like a Hall of Famer. But you made a good point there. The media has a big say in this stuff. If you play well with the media, they like you.

Colin, there's a lot of people that should be writing about this show, but we don't necessarily play well with the media, even though the numbers are great. Do we have to? People have no clue about some of that stuff. Well, let's not talk about us. Okay, fine. Let's talk about the NFL. I'm guarantee you some of those guys did not play well with the media.

and they're going to get shafted when it comes time. To me, here's the other thing about Hall of Fame. If you have to think about it, you're probably not. Okay. The quintessential. Joe Thomas, Dwight Freeney Darrell Revis. If you don't think they're a Hall of Fame or you just don't watch football. They were the best at their position for a top two at their position for a decade.

Okay, so this is where it gets complicated. He's not on the list, but he's going to be coming up here in a few years. Eli Manning was never ever a top three quarterback in the NFL, ever. We can agree on that. I don't even know if he was top five. Okay, you're right, but here's my argument. I know, yeah. Can you tell the story of the NFL without Eli Manning?

Hell no. He beat Brady and Belichick on two of the greatest throws in league history in crisis. The David Tyree and Mario Manningham throw, now Tyree may be luck, but it is what it is. The Manningham throw goes down as arguably Big Bend to San Antonio Holmes was a great all-time throw in the Super Bowl. City, yep. Okay. Manningham, Eli Manning, it had to be fit into a breadbox. It is one of the great throws in the history of Super Bowls.

I don't know. He's a Hall of Fame. No, he is. I know, but I understand the pushback. But we would agree he's a Hall of Fame. Oh, I think Eli is. You can't beat Brady and Belichick. Twice.

And as an underdog twice. And one of them, the Patriots were undefeated. One of the greatest teams ever. And it was your throw in both games that changed it. That's absolutely a Hall of Fame. Agree. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurdline News. So Patrick Willis played. My staff says eight years. He feels like not. I have to think about it. So he doesn't, if he played 11, I may go for it. But I had to ask on Patrick Willis, so he ends up being super talented, very good, not a

Hall of Fameer to me. Ray Lewis. You say Ray Lewis. Hall of Fame. Automatic lock. Patrick Willis, yeah, really, really good. Maybe probably, right? One of those?

I mean, how many guys do we have playing? right now. Think about this that are Hall of Famers. So let me think about Miles Garrett. Aaron Donald. The linebacker position has been diminished considerably now versus 15 years. Like Miles Garrett, Hall of Famer. He's on the track. T.J. Watt, on the track, certainly. Yeah.

I mean. Jay J.J. Watt probably gets in. Oh, yeah. Okay. Aaron Donald gets in. Yes. Aaron Rogers gets in. Brady gets in. All right. Let's give a guy you want to trade. Jalen Ramsey of the Rams. He basically led Jacksonville to the AFC Championship. No. I'm with you.

I don't think he's there. He's no Revis. Mahomes. Nick Wright had him in by his second ear. Come on. Mahomes is a lock. Well, he's got to give me one more. How many years he played? Six. Come on now. What does he have? MVP? Super Bowl MVP? Come on. He's a lock. Yeah.

Okay. Well, he's played like an hour. You guys, I am. If Mahomes retired tomorrow, he's in the Hall of Fame. Probably, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't push back. So yes. Yes. We got some Who's a medium guy that... Well, let's not mention medium guys.

Matt Ryan. Let's not pick on. Let's not do that. He won an MVP award. Let's talk positively. It's my birthday. Let's be positive today. How many times are you going to wedge it and it's your birthday in a three-hour show?

So let's talk about the guys that absolutely get in. You know, Gronkel get in. So let's, right now, just Travis Kelsey. Oh, absolutely. I got one. I got one. Travis Kelsey is absolutely a whole thing. Russell Wilson.

I'm not going to get into that. What do you mean you're not going to get into it? He has a Super Bowl ring. It's very close. If he turns around Denver in the next two years and gives me good seasons, he's in. Who had a better career, Russell Wilson so far, or Eli Manning? It's a very good point. I think Russell Wilson has to get in.

Okay, I'm fine with it. I like Russell. With the two Super Bowls, should have won to. Should have won to. But his interception cost him another. When you get close, that kind of stuff matters. We both think he's going to rebound next year. Okay, here's one.

Here's one. Joe Flacco. He did win a Super Bowl Oh, so did Come on, Brad Johnson won a Super Bowl He's better than Brad Johnson. Well, yes, but I mean Joe Flacco was at one point

the highest paid quarterback in the NFL. Who cares? I'm just saying, he's going to be... So he got paid a lot and had a good Sunday. You don't think he's going to be a candidate for all those playoff runs with the race? I like Joe Flacko. I don't think he's a Hall of Famer.

No. You don't think there's a discussion. Maybe at Joe Flacko's house. No. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Hey, it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor. It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey.

You're asking what in God's name is The Fifth Hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mather show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry, in media, sports, and more every week. Explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast,

The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Friday, Blazing Five, top of next hour. Hall of Fame finalists, Dwight Freeney's one of them. 16 years, seven Pro Bowls, fourth most force fumbles, top 20 in sacks. To me, Joe Thomas, Dorell, Rivas, Dwight Frini, of the Automatic Hall of Famers on that list of dudes. And by the way, he just look at Dwight Freeney.

Dwight Friedney chased down skinny quarterbacks like me. That is a frightening experience. I got to say in a serious note, very good news this morning on Damar Hamlin. He's turned a corner. He's now communicating. I cannot imagine the emotional lift to the Buffalo Bills and how wonderful they feel. You know, you were a guy that inflicted hits, right? Was there ever a moment that you felt the way you felt watching Monday in your career that you got a little,

you stepped back and got kind of emotional on what you were seeing. I was thinking about that and no, to be quite honest with you. You know, we play this game. We understand that this is a violent game, controlled violence. Right. Things happen. All right. Things happen.

Guys have knees, Achilles. And once in a blue moon, you might have a spinal situation where guys paralyzed or something like that, which is scary, you know, which, you know, you never want to see. But what happened a couple nights ago, you know, that was something else. I mean, you see him get up and you think he's okay. And then all of a sudden it's like he's gone. And you never want to see it. The immediate thought is just kind of like, you know, obviously I hope he's okay and he can make it through.

But when you start to perform CPR and ambulances, it will blow your mind. There was no chance that game could continue. and just the thought of what his family was thinking, his mother in this dance. All of that is just something that you never want to see. And I'm so happy that he's turning a corner. And hopefully he's winning this battle of life right now. You know, it's interesting. I watch the jet said, you know, if Zach Wilson could have just sat for a year, it would

have worked. And my takeaway is, guys got it or they don't. You could sit in for three years. I always felt he was small, on discipline, not that accurate. I didn't see it in college. So in all your years, now you had Bill Polly in a Hall of Famer as a GM,

but Bill told me before he missed on a couple of picks. It happens. Some kids get to camp, and you can tell Dwight in 15 minutes. They don't want to hit. They don't want to play pro football. How long did it take you? Go back to all your years,

just the 11 and Indy. Did you know pretty much instantly first camp? The kid's going to make. it or the kid isn't? Well, you know, I think you have that instinct about you when you see a guy and you see, you know, he has something special. All right? So you look at it and say, okay, you know, he has a little something to him. All right. Now that might be a little explosion, a little fight, whatever that is. You see it. Now, you don't know how long they're going to make it because, you know, this is a violent game, as we discussed. And, you know, he can get hurt

or what have you. But for the most part, for the positions that we're talking about, with that I clearly see is more like the position situations. When you're playing a lineback or you're playing receiver and you're seeing the running back, it's easier to tell whether a guy has it or he doesn't. From a quarterback position is a little bit different. Yeah, no, it is.

You're asking him cognitively to do things. You're often asking a guy who's not huge to take hits and punishment. they often go to bad teams. Very few Mahomes where you get Andy Reed and Travis Kelsey. That's not the way it generally works. So your Colts have right now their first pick, they're in line for the fifth overall pick.

It's a proud franchise. They've got a lot of good players. They just can't get quarterback right. You've watched some college football college kids. Is your gut feeling they go quarterback college or quarterback in the pro market? wherever they go, they better go quarterback. You got to get that, you know, kind of hemmed up, all right?

And I know we've been down the road of, you know, getting the older guys, but those other guys are only going to last a year or two, you know, Philip Rivers. He's going to be a year or two, you know, and you just, you can't just, you know, build for the future, you know, he got Maddie Ryan. He's a year or two. You got to get somebody who's young that you can. build within your system, all right, and get this thing going. Now, it doesn't matter who you got back there.

If you don't have an offensive line of lock form, go ahead. They're all the same, Colin. They are all the same. But if we got to get a young guy, so I don't know, or somebody who at least has five or six years left to play. You're a humble guy, but if I said to you, make a case, now, obviously you made a bunch of pro bowls, you forced a lot of fumbles, I think you're 17th or 18th all time in sacks.

But, well, I always make the argument. If I have to think about it, somebody's not a Hall of Famer. You, Joe Thomas, Dorel Revis. I don't have to think about it. What do you think you added that was unique, in your opinion? Well, obviously, this is not up to me. And, you know, the voters vote. And I've done everything I could.

But I will say this. I think I left my mark on the game regardless of what has happened. you know i think whenever you see a spin move out there and guys using the spin move yeah prior to me they weren't using that move you are actually taught not to turn your back to the quarterback that's what you were taught you know and i think guys used to spin from time to time but it wasn't as frequently and as planned as it was for me you know so whenever you see that you know all right somewhere down that tree whether he learned it from vaughan who vaughan learned it for me or whatever i think you know, that's something that I know I left my mark on the game.

You know, when you see a guy that's undersized, quote unquote, being drafted high, most guys like me wasn't drafted high. We were drafted in the second, third round because we were tweeners. And you had to be a 6-5, 275, 280-pound defensive van to be drafted in the top 15 or what have you. So I think I kind of broke the mold there. And there's also some protection things that, you know, yeah, you put a running back. in the backfield and you chip on the way out, well, that happened for a century. But when you start seeing tight ends outside off the ball, motioning, receivers coming

the chip, that stuff was implemented because of like me and Robert Mathis and how we got off the ball. There'd be a lot of situations. The coach would be like, Dwight, we've never seen this protection before. So you're just going to have to deal with it. Yeah, no, you had great influence. I've always said that about Steph Curry, literally changed high school, college, and pro basketball. Shots that you got benched for when I was in high school.

He literally now, he eliminated the back to the basket center. Even Jordan didn't do that. So you had influence from pass rushing situations. It is why when I think of you, it's an old-brainer. One of the good guys, Dwight Frini, you look fantastic. I cannot imagine you chasing quarterbacks around. You look great. Congrats on your success, my man. Thank you for having me. Take care. All right, Dwight Freeney. He really did have influence when you change blocking schemes.

And there's just, I mean, like, obviously Mariano Rivera was great. He was a one-pitch pitcher. I mean, literally he, if you think about baseball and pitching coaches, you could never make the majors like a one-pitch pitcher. Even Nolan Ryan had off-speed stuff. Mariano through one pitch and it was understood that it changed. the way you thought. It's like, you don't need an arsenal. If you're, if you are a great closer, what is your out pitch?

I mean, I always think of Mariano one, the splitter. He had one pitch and was the greatest closer of all time. When it changes your thinking, how you do things, that to me is that that's the influence. Steph Curry has more influence than LeBron and Michael. More influence, not just titles. He literally changed college basketball. He changed high school basketball. He changed day a you basketball like now it's understood if you you can't be on the floor unless you're really like a great rebounder or like draymond green's the best defensive player in the league for like 10 years and even he'll take an occasional three but if you can't shoot a three you're not on the floor you have to be draymond green otherwise it's like oh it's a liability now he's a

catalyst for their offense he's such a unique player but it's a cutter my bad not a but or a cutter. Marta Rivera. Anyway, kind of rambling. Blazing five, tough week. A lot of a lot of people, sharps who do this for a living take this week off, I'm told. Yeah, there's nothing wrong with saving your powder for the first round of the playoffs. You know where my powder's going?

All over the set. I got five picks on 54.5% to the year. We're going to get the 55. I just got to go three and two. My Blazing Five hour two Friday next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy. Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not.

not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to learn the hard. way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor it.

It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human